Don’t mourn – ORGANIZE!

I’m really sorry to see that the people of Ings have missed out on a fantastic councillor in Tracy Noon.

But she’s every reason to hold her head up high today because:

a) she was only selected less than a month ago and faced an uphill struggle to unseat the incumbent

b) she had the highest turnout of all East Hull wards at 31% – the city average was 25.5% and some wards were as low as 17%

c) with 942, she had the fourth highest number of Labour votes in the city

Hull now has to wait two years for the next local election but local ward parties should start selecting candidates NOW. Every prospective candidate should spend the next two years winning the confidence of the electorate, becoming their champion and holding the Lib Dems to account, ward-by-ward and street-by-street.

Our candidates can make a massive difference by campaigning for further investment and funding in our wards. For example, there’s more than £200 million available for new playgrounds through the Children’s Plan – we don’t need the Lib Dems to help us access it – we can get it ourselves.

And it’s not about sticking out thousands of leaflets a few weeks before the poll. Voters are wise to that. They want an on-going relationship, not a one-night stand. If candidates or councillors aren’t prepared to do the work, they should stand aside and let those who are committed to carry the torch.

That’s why for me, people like Tracy are the future – committed people who are making a real difference to the lives of others. Tonight – like every other Friday night – she’ll be teaching more than 80 kids drama and music at East Hull Urban Arts; a project she can be very, very proud of.

So take heart Tracy – you did a great job. But remember the last words of the trade unionist Joe Hill before he was executed.